Mes que un club

Well we have finally reached the end of what has been a fabulous season for Kimberley Institute 1^st XI. Winning our first Nottinghamshire Premier League title, along with the success in the Twenty20 Cup earlier in the season has been a very special thing to be part of.

Success at a cricket club, and developing winning teams can rarely be attributed to one particular thing. It is normally the sum of many parts which come together to make for a successful environment.

There is no doubt that this year we have been blessed with a number of fine young players who have together blossomed at the right time into outstanding, and perhaps most importantly, consistent league cricketers. That did not happen over night. The work that Sam Ogrizovic and Michael Blatherwick put in over the last few years to assemble much of this side was vital to the success. Both Michael and Sam had the longer term vision to see that by building a young team with a strong collective work ethic, success could be achieved. It is easy to try to chase success by bringing in players who you expect to deliver instantly. More often that not you are disappointed. We had tried that route in the past and been burnt. It takes great determination and a brave confidence to say ‘this is the way we are going to do it, it might take time, but it will succeed’. So to Sam and Michael, I say a big thank you. Not only for having confidence in me, but also in this group that they could perform.

We have also been lucky to have the wisdom and skill of our team manager. ‘Rookie’, takes a lot of stick from the young lads, but he has this great ability to connect with them and get the best out of them. He, like Sam and Michael, has shown unwavering belief in the ability of the group over the last two seasons, and now he has been rewarded. It says something when lads of 21 look forward to going out for a social drink with a man of Rookie’s age! Thank you Rookie for trusting in me and for providing me with council over the season.

Karen Layton, a key cog behind the scenes.

It is not all about the team and management though. Any success is actually as much down to the people behind the scenes as those out on the pitch. Karen Layton does a phenomenal amount for Kimberley Institute Cricket Club. She is Child Welfare Officer and organises the teas (and I do think ours are amongst the best in the league!) along with Tina King, and I was so pleased she was up there on Saturday to share our success. Martin Clarke is vital on match day's running the bar along with our treasurer and his wife Nichola. Without Martin, Colin would not be able to get his match day beers and would be forever grumpy!

We without doubt have the best scorer in the league. Rob Naylor is a voluntary sensation. His scoring is sublime, he knows all the statistics and can be a useful source of information in analysing our performance.

Our outstanding ground staff who have worked tirelessly to provide superb playing conditions all year.

We are also blessed to have the most fantastic ground staff. At so many grounds, you come across groundsman who actually hate nothing more than people playing cricket on their square! Not Stewart and his team. They will do anything they can to help get a game on, and this year we did not suffer a single abandonment at home, our last game a perfect example, with the mangle and sponges out despite it being a dead rubber in many ways.

Geoff Griffiths has been Chairman since 1998
and has overseen both NPL titles.

We have Geoff Griffiths our Chairman, John Parkin the President and the rest of the committee. They do a sterling job ensuring that the 1^st XI can just come along and play without having to worry about the numerous logistical aspects of running a cricket club.

Finally we have our fantastic supporters. They are always our harshest critics, but as Graham said to me, ”it is only because we want you to be better!” They have travelled home and away to supporters over the difficult last few years and been unwavering in their support. I hope they have enjoyed the success over the last few weeks.

Barcelona FC have a motto of “mes que un club” which translates as “more than a club”. I think that befits Kimberley Institute, and our challenge now is to repeat our success in the same vein as our Catalan counterparts.

Thank you to everyone, it has been a wonderful year!

Champions!!

We did it! Can you believe it! Kimberley Institute can once again after 15 years call ourselves the best cricket team in Nottinghamshire after claiming the points we needed to win the Nottinghamshire Premier League title on Saturday.

Even though we only needed two points to secure the title out of a possible forty over the last two weeks, it was always going to be a little nervy for us until we actually got there. After Jack Blatherwick got us off to a great start, you might have just thought the recent juggernaut that we have been riding would just continue to roll on. Clifton had other ideas however, and we needed George Bacon to come to the party with a wonderful spell in the middle of the innings to get us the five wickets we needed. It was a classic example of how every member of the squad has played their part and stepped up to the plate when they were needed.

George Bacon wheels away after taking the wicket that clinched the league title on Saturday

At the top of the order, we have had the guys who have done all the set-up work, laying the foundations. Shaun Levy has had a great season scoring just shy of 700 runs at an average of 40. Tom Rowe has scored 750 at 41 and Sam Johnson 710 at 39. On their day, each has won games with special innings, but more often than not, it was just a case of accumulating good runs and a fast rate that gave us a platform to win the game. Then you move into the group I like to call the finishers. Dominic Brown has scored 654 runs at an average of 55 with 8 of his 20 innings finishing not out. George Bacon and Alex King have provided 500 crucial runs between them, often in the process of seeing home tight games.

On the bowling front, the Captain King has lead the way with 40 wickets to his name at an average of just 19. He has been ably supported by a broad cast with Bacon taking 36 wickets, myself 20, Savage 19, and Brown, Rowe and Blatherwick taking 41 between them.

It is no doubt due to the fact that we have had such a wide range of contributors and perhaps a lack of reliance on one or two individuals, that we have been so successful. Whenever, we have faced difficulties over the last three months, someone has put their hand up and delivered.

Kimberley Institute - Double Winners 2015

Statistics can only tell you part of the story though, and perhaps what has been most important through this period is the tight bond that has developed between the group. Obviously winning games makes things more enjoyable, but perhaps because many of the players have been through difficult seasons and have come out of the other end of it stronger, they have a strong affinity to take advantage when you start to build something special. Many people off the pitch have been involved in putting together this successful season. I don’t want to name them individually, but they all know who they are. To them I say a huge thank you, and to my team mates, for allowing me to fulfil a life ambition of winning one of the top amateur cricket leagues in the country. Hopefully we can do it again, but for now, let’s all head down to Newdigate Street this Saturday, to celebrate what has been a long awaited triumph for the cricketing club of this wonderful town and community! Come on Kimberley!

One game at a time

We are nearly there! Over the last few weeks I have worked hard to keep reminding our boys that we need to take one game at a time and not look too far ahead as we search for our first league title in 15 years. Actually, I need not have worried. Our professionalism over the second half of the season has been quite phenomenal and Saturday’s win over relegation troubled Farnsfield ensured that we have now taken 215 out of the last 220 points. A remarkable feat. We now just need to take three points out of the next 40, something we will be very keen to tie up this Saturday at Clifton.

Saturday was not only an enjoyable cricket day because of another win at Kimberley, but also because I was able to get home in time to watch Lancashire become the T20 Blast. It was a fantastic achievement from a Lancashire side built with local young cricketers. Lancashire have been pretty smart over the last few years with their coaching appointments. Firstly Peter Moores created an excellent environment for young players to be given a chance to thrive while supporting them with quality experience players. Then last winter’s appointment of Ashley Giles has allowed them to follow the same pathway. You only have to look at Giles’s willingness to select Gavin Griffiths and George Edwards for finals day to see that they believe in giving youth a chance to thrive. It was also pleasing to see an old teammate of mine Steven Croft captain the side to victory.

There is little point in investing in an expensive junior academy system if you then have no confidence to select the players it produces and to give them a chance in the 1^st XI. Of course, there is always pressure for success and therefore it is easy to look to use your cheque book to bring players in for short term gain. However, the value of being able to develop a core of your side as local cricketers with a strong connection to your club can be of incredible value as you look to build a team that can compete over the longer term. I am pleased to see Lancashire do that, and there is no doubt that at Kimberley there are similarities and we also have the opportunity to build something special.

For now, our attention is very firmly fixed on Saturday’s fixture at Clifton, and while obviously we will be conscious of acquiring the points we need, our focus will be on winning the game. As I say, “one game at a time!”

Time for Nottinghamshire to provide Trent Bridge test for amateur cricketers

Saturday’s spectacular win at West Indian Cavaliers was a wonderful experience and a result that very much keeps us in the hunt for the Nottinghamshire Premier League title. More than that though, it was a demonstration of how exciting and thrilling a game can be when both teams need to win in the closing stages of the season.

This year has been a very competitive year at the top of the Nottinghamshire Premier League. Up until only two or three weeks ago, up to six or seven sides could have retained realistic hopes of winning the title. As a result, there have been some surprises and a number of twists as teams fought it out for vital points. When league cricket is like this it is great. Too often though, the second half of the season can be a dull affair for 5 of 6 teams stuck in the middle of a league where there is a two horse race for the title and perhaps a three horse race for relegation.

Growing up in Lancashire this could also be a problem. In fact, in the Northern League there was no relegation! However, what we did have was places in the Lancashire Cup to play for. You could equate this to qualification for next year’s Champions League! The top four teams in the league at the end of the season qualified for the Lancashire Knock-out Cup which was made up of similar qualifying teams from around the various leagues in the county. This was then (and still is) a really tough competition which was hotly contested and with a final at Old Trafford.

I still find it a great shame that Nottinghamshire does not have a county cup competition. Yes there is the T20, but as I have stated before, I really think this could be scaled up, and it is not comparable to a longer format competition. It would be great to have a 40 over or 45 over cup competition, which the top 7 sides from the previous Premier League season (plus the T20 winners) qualify for. They could then be joined by the top four finishing sides in both the South Notts Division A and the Bassetlaw Championship to make a 16 team knock-out cup. You would then actually only need four rounds, and it could be a cup competition to run towards the second half of the season after running the T20 during the first half.

One of the key elements would need to be a Trent Bridge final. For local cricketers, this should be seen as a great opportunity to play at an international venue, and something to aspire to. I find it most disappointing that local club cricketers are not currently afforded this opportunity. Thankfully, there are no dead rubbers ahead for ourselves over the next three weeks, and we must be on top of our game as we face a tough Farnsfield side this coming weekend.

Cup run comes to an end

Sunday saw our excellent run in the ECB Royal London Championship sadly come to an end at Northern Cricket Club, but it has been a great experience for the whole squad. While it was disappointing to go out at the quarter final stage, especially in a game that we knew we got ourselves into a decent position in, it has been a run which has very much whetted the appetite for us, and we now want to make a real good effort over the next few weeks to try to win the Nottinghamshire Premier League.

On Saturday, we took another big step towards that aim with a good win away at Welbeck.  It was another comprehensive performance which provides an indicator that we are building some momentum. Having been through a few title run-ins with my hockey teams, what is crucial at this stage is that we take each game as it comes and not look too far ahead. There is no doubt that this week’s opponents Radcliffe-on-Trent will be another difficult hurdle to overcome, as they proved when they beat us earlier in the season.

The key to our success so far this season has most definitely been our strength in depth, with 13 players competitively vying for a place in the starting 11 each week. It is never an easy thing keeping 13 good players happy, but so far our management team have done a fine job balancing selection and rewarding those who are performing well. It is very difficult to go and win competitions when you only have 9 or 10 decent players as it makes you vulnerable when people inevitably are unavailable at points during the season. So as we push hard across these final few weeks, it will be important that we continue to use that depth in the right way each week.

In the next week down at Kimberley we turn our attention to developing the next generation of 1^st XI cricketers as we run our Ashes Cricket Camp. It is all very well having a strong  1^st XI level, but if you then do not invest in developing your young players, it can mean that any success can be short lived. We must continue to strive to be at the forefront of youth development, and it is by organising camps like this, run by our young 1^st XI players, that the next generation can start to see what they need to be able to make it through. There are still some places left on the course so if you are interested visit our website for more details. I look forward to seeing a big crowd down at the 2bm Private Ground for this Saturday’s vital league match. Come on Kimberley!

All in the toss

We are now moving to a crucial few weeks in our season at Kimberley Institute. We are still battling on three fronts and we are very much looking forward to our Royal London Club Championship National Quarter Final in two weeks time up in Liverpool against Northern CC. However, before we get that far, we have two huge days this weekend. On Saturday we take on Plumtree who currently sit top of the Nottinghamshire Premier League. Plumtree, like ourselves, have a side built around a number of talented young players, and it promises to be a key battle in shaping the direction of the League title. On Sunday, we then face old rivals Wollaton in the Semi Finals of the Nottinghamshire T20, where a win would see us progress to face either Farnsfield or West Indian Cavaliers later in the day.

Last weekend I was at a wedding so I was unable to see the spectacular innings of Sam Johnson that brought us the victory at Ordsall Bridon. You only need to take a look at the innings statistics to see how special a knock it must have been. We will need Sam to continue that fine form over the next few weeks if we are to maintain our run of recent results.

It would be remiss of me this week to not pass comment on the recent Test Match at Lords this week. After arriving to England after the successful ODI series against New Zealand and then winning comfortably at Cardiff, Trevor Bayliss the new England Coach must have thought it was all a breeze. However, the team came crashing down to reality at Lords, and the Aussie now has his work cut out to repair the damage done to the confidence of that crushing defeat at the home of cricket. It is amazing in cricket how important the toss can be. I don’t think in any other sport it carries as much significance. Imagine back to day one of the Lords Test with England riding high in confidence, the pitch flat, not a cloud in the sky. It would have been quite likely had England won the toss they would have gone on to set a solid score. Yes there are clearly problems in the top order, and I am glad that the selectors have opted to make a change (I am always amazed at how long some batsmen get when they are out of form). However, if the toss had gone the other way, I expect England would have been going into the next Test at Edgbaston with their 1-0 lead intact. England now need to clear their minds and bat with the confidence and positivity that saw them play so well against the Kiwi’s and down in Cardiff. In sport, we always get a pummelling every so often. Any team is defined by how they respond. So its over to you Trevor and Alistair to keep the new found optimism in English cricket alive.

Consistency is the key

Well what a fabulous weekend we had at Kimberley Institute. Firstly, we were able to beat Nottinghamshire Academy, who we have struggled to get the better of over the past few seasons. Then on Sunday, we put in a sparkling performance in the last 16 of the Royal London Club Championship to defeat Kidderminster Victoria, one of the top sides from the Birmingham League.

After a solid and composed bowling and fielding display, restricting the hosts to 223 on a good wicket, Sam Johnson and Tom Rowe proceeded to play probably the best partnership I have witnessed in club cricket.  The pair batted with remarkable maturity and control, to ease us to victory well within the 45 overs and without looking in trouble at any stage. It was a very special day for the club, and as a player it was a massive boost and also made me very proud to see the large number of Kimberley supporters who had made the trip over to the West Midlands. To send them home happy was a perfect way to repay their wonderful support over the last few seasons since I joined this special club.

Kidderminster were at one stage in danger of not putting up much of a fight on Sunday, and had it not been for the brilliant innings of Richard Kimberlin, we could have been chasing a score closer to 150. Kimberlin, rode his luck at times, but his clean striking at the end, and his use of the reverse sweep allowed him to assemble an impressive score for his team.

Kimberlin played the reverse sweep well but I did feel sorry for Alex King who bowled very well, and was unlucky not to dismiss the Kidderminster batsman on a number of occasions. It is becoming a bit of a bugbear of mine that everything down the leg side is called a wide, especially for an off spinner. There were a couple of times on Sunday where Alex bowled a delivery which pitched in line with off stump. The batsman had every chance to play the ball which then spun sharply and slipped down past leg stump. I really do not feel this should be classed a wide. The main argument that comes back on this one is it allows for consistency, but that really is a non argument. You could just get rid of LBW to improve ‘consistency’ of umpiring, but we wouldn’t because we are happy to let the umpire interpret the delivery. That is exactly what they should be allowed to do with regard to ‘leg side wides’.  At one stage, Kimberlin moved early to reverse sweep and effectively changed his stance, and this is where there should definitely be a caveat for interpretation.

Anyway enough of me moaning, after all it has been a good week!

Lunesiders are on the up!

Last weekend’s win away at Cuckney was a significant moment for us. It has hopefully proved to ourselves that we can win ugly and in difficult conditions. It will be of vital importance over the coming weeks that we can repeat that feat, as there promises to be a number of challenging situations between now and the end of the season.

It was also great last weekend to see Alex King bowl so well. Alex had a frustrating season with the ball last year, but since the start of the new campaign he has bowled with real zip and is getting the ball to turn and bounce which makes him a difficult man to face. He has really led from the front this year, and we will need him to continue in that vein as we head towards such a huge weekend.

Last weekend I was able to travel up to see my old club Lancaster take on Netherfield in the Northern Premier League T20 competition final. Although the game was eventually washed out half way through, it was so good to see a full house down at Lune Road, and the club looking in such fantastic condition. It has been a difficult few years for Lancaster with challenges on and off the field, but now under the stewardship of Brendan Hetherington off the pitch and Ben Simm on the pitch, the club are starting to look like they are really moving in the right direction, something which gives me great pleasure. I now wish them well in the replay of the final next Sunday, come on the LPN Lunesiders!

Watching the final last week, and seeing all the hard work that went into the inaugural game for our Kimberley Krusaders U19 team who played in the National U19 T20 cup this week, once again demonstrated to me how the Notts Premier League misses a trick when it comes to running a T20 competition.

Iain Burstow strides out in front of a full house at Lune Road for Lancaster in the Northern Premier League T20

I would really like to see club’s play their group games across a series of weeks, in the evenings, home and away and with coloured clothing. These events can add a real zest to the competition, make it something different from a normal league cricket, and help draw in a good audience and thus some revenue.

Twenty20 is clearly the format of the game that strikes a chord with more of the broader public audience, and if you do it well as our U19s showed the other night, you can bring in a big crowd. I would love to see a big crowd down at the 2bm Private Ground on a Friday night, with music blasting, runs being racked up and the beer flowing. For now though, we need to make sure the runs keep flowing this weekend so we can possibly look forward to a National Quarter Final come Monday.

Exams, your time is up!

Saturday was one of the strangest cricket matches in which I have played. It very much felt like watching a highlights package through the first 15 overs, as a flurry of boundaries was followed by a burst of wickets. In the end, we actually got our bowling together and were able to limit Clifton to just over 150 on a good wicket. We then got home relatively safely, with just a little wobble, and picked up a very important twenty points.

Sunday was completely different. From the start to the finish we were superb in every department, and it was fantastic to keep our cup run going into the last 16 by winning the regional final. We now have an appetising match away at Kidderminster Victoria to look forward to in the middle of July, and with another win in the Ockbrook invitational T20 this Wednesday we are now still competing on five fronts going into the end of June.

With only a few weeks to go now until the start of the Ashes, the anticipation has really been building in the cricketing public. English hopes have certainly been lifted by the improved performance of the ODI side in the last few weeks, and it will be interesting to see if they can carry that momentum into the Test side which has a number of different players.

As part of the build up, I was reading this morning that Mike Gatting has been touring schools to promote the game. He has also made some very interesting and pertinent comments regarding the demise of summer sports in school due to examinations.

Working in a school myself, I know that Mike is definitely onto something. Schools are under increasing pressure to meet examination targets, and inevitably things that do not fit in with this objective can too easily be moved to one side. This is not a problem that is solely that of state schools. Independent schools too have been finding increasing challenges balancing the needs of sport and examinations. With the movement of all exams to a completely linear system where they are all sat at the end of the year, this will only add further to this problem.

The difficulty is that there is no easy solution or remedy. One option might be to move examinations to another time in the year, but that would probably mean changing the school calendar completely, something that would be difficult and controversial. In all reality, summer sports, forever the poorer relation, will just have to find a way to continue to thrive in the difficult environment. Let’s hope they can.

Ignore youth at your peril

Having been away at a wedding this weekend, I thought I had chosen a good one to miss. After the terrible weather on Saturday, it looked like there would be no cricket for Kimberley Institute this weekend, but with the clouds clearing and the sun shining on Sunday, we were able to go out and play in the qualifying round of the Nottinghamshire Twenty20 Competition.

I have been thinking all season that this is a tournament that our side is well set up for, and the boys didn’t disappoint. Tom Rowe’s blistering innings of 126* not out off 75 balls set the tone for the first game against Ordsall Bridon and this was then supplemented by some sensational figures of 6 for 6 from George Bacon. The lads, then had a much tighter game against Radcliffe in the final, but pleasing pulled through in a tense last over.

It is great that we now have a finals day to look forward to in July, and we hope to add to our Sunday success this week, when we take on Caythorpe in the regional final of the Royal London Cup. We would really welcome a large crowd to support us this weekend, so if you are in the area come on down.

This week, I have been able to watch some the remarkable ODI series that has been taking place between England and New Zealand. The way the cricket has been played has really gripped the English cricketing public, and for the first time in my memory, there is a real buzz around our one day side.

I suppose the key question is, what is the biggest difference between the team that played in the dismal World Cup campaign and the one that has been breaking records for fun over the last two weeks? Well there has been a lot of talk about, the intent and ambition of the way they have wanted to play their cricket. This is without doubt a big factor.

For me, the biggest sea change has come from the willingness to select young exciting players, and not be too ‘safe’ with selections. Ric Charlesworth the great Australian hockey coach, who built Olympic winning hockey teams over a long period, said that one of the key blends of any successful team was to include up and coming talent. He said that you should ignore youth at your peril. In cricket this is most true. Too often, we can be cautious with selections and not be willing to give young talent the opportunity to come through. This England side is brimming with young lads who want to make a point. What makes it better, is that they are really hungry for success. The atmosphere looks relaxed. Jump back a few months to the World Cup and the team looked like they were carrying the weight of the world. Not now. This happy-go-lucky England are playing with a smile on their face, but also real intent.

Ric Charlesworth believed in bringing in youth

I can draw similarities from the new England set-up to our young team at Kimberley (with myself as an exception!). We must continue to play with no fear, be positive and impose ourselves on each match. Yes, at times, it might not work and we might get well beaten. However, with the talent we have in the dressing room, if we continue to back ourselves, I know that success is not that far away. 

Prosperity in dexterity

After the excitement of last Sunday’s victory against the West Indian Cavaliers in the National Knockout, this Saturday’s defeat to the same opposition was very much a heavy bump back to earth. However, on some occasions you need to hold your hands up and say that you were well and truly outplayed, and that was very much the case this weekend. Cory Collymore may no longer play Test cricket, but in his impressive opening spell at the 2bm Private Ground on Saturday, you could see why the Bajan played 30 Test matches and 84 One Day Internationals.

His control of the ball and skill in moving it both away and back in to the batsman, made him a tough prospect to face, and along with able support from Kafeel Shafique, they took the game away from us within the first 90 minutes of the match.

It takes many hours and years practicing to develop the kind of skill level that Collymore was able to exhibit at the weekend. Those who have been following the recent celebrations of James Anderson reaching 400 Test wickets will know that it took him many years to develop his full repertoire of deliveries. Yet another story on this theme, really gripped me this week and it may be one that might have passed you by. If I say the name Pat Venditte it might not mean a lot to you. However, this week he became first pitcher in 20 years to pitch with both arms in a Major League Baseball game.

It is quite a remarkable story. The guy can pitch a full range of deliveries with both his left and right hand, and he will switch which way he pitches depending on the dexterity of the batsman. Yet he is no young spunk. At 29, Venditte has been selected by the Oakland Athletics (famous for their willingness to choose the unfashionable for those who have read or seen Moneyball), after 8 years trawling through the minor leagues. He started throwing with both hands as a young child at the encouragement of his father when he first started to play baseball.

Pat Venditte throws with both left and right arms when pitching (c) Getty Images

Inevitably this got me thinking, could we at some stage see a bowler at the top level of the game offer deliveries not just of different pace, swing or spin, but even of different arms? It would certainly provide a levelling up to the switch hitting, and it would allow the bowler an opportunity to provide an additional string to their bow. I have played with a few people who throw with one hand and bowl with another, so why couldn't this develop further? One thing is for sure, you would need to start young, so I think my chance of developing a right arm over variation might have sailed!

Play smart and park the bus!

Last weekend was one of mixed fortunes at Kimberley. After a disappointing result on Saturday away at Radcliffe-on-Trent, where we twice failed to capitalise on excellent positions within the game, Sunday saw us complete a very polished display against a strong West Indian Cavaliers side in the third round of the Royal London Cup.

This is the first time I have reached the fourth round and regional final of the National Knockout despite numerous attempts, so it is pleasing to finally get a run together in the competition. We were very much indebted to a superb innings by Sam Johnson on Sunday where he carried his bat through our innings scoring 95 not out in the process. Sam really showed his class on Sunday, and while he has not scored quite as many runs as he would have liked so far this season, despite some very good contributions, he will now hopefully use that innings as a springboard to really kick on.

Sam Johnson was in great form on Sunday showing great discipline

If we are to have a successful season, we must now do our best to eradicate the poor performances, such as Saturday’s, as developing greater consistency is obviously the key to challenging.

There was no doubt that Saturday was always going to be difficult with the pitch offering a lot of help to the bowlers. What we failed to do was to react the situation, and learn about the conditions while we played. We have many talented young players within our side, many of whom have a dazzling array of scoring shots. Saturday however, was a day for playing within yourself to get the job done.

Jose Mourinho famously described opponents who defend deep as 'parking the bus', ironically a criticism that has at times been aimed at his current team.

Sport can be like that sometimes. There are certain days you need to operate in a certain way to get the result you require. It might not always be the most aesthetically pleasing or the purest of performances, but you do what you need to , and play to the limitations the game and the opposition allow you to. Perhaps we are more familiar with this with invasion games such as football. We often refer to Jose Mourinho and his phrase of ‘parking the bus’, where teams operate a low defensive block (or defend deep to avoid tactical jargon) to limit the space and room for opponents to attack. You can then attack on the counter, playing to your specific strengths.  On Saturday, we needed to ‘park the bus’ more with the way we played. Showing caution and patience was the way we needed to go about chasing 160 on a difficult wicket. With the exception of a superb innings from Alex King, too often, our attacking flair overpowered our defensive discipline. That is why Sam Johnson’s innings was so important on the Sunday. It demonstrated someone had learnt the failings of the previous day and applied themselves with steadfast dedication to singlehandedly set up a winning position.

New Zealand played smart by attacking hard at the right times (c) Getty Images

Playing the situation is not always parking the bus. Sometimes you come out and press hard in a footballing analogy. If you think about the way New Zealand played their cricket over the last week you saw a team who set up a winning position from attacking the game. Were they gung ho though? Nope. They attacked smartly. Not when the ball was new, but when it was old and the change bowlers were on. Teams that win on a regular basis play smart, and play the situation. That is where we need to get to in order to be consistent.

Time to turn to youth

Well what a good weekend that was for Kimberley Institute! On Saturday, all four teams won their respective league games, something that doesn’t happen very often. Then on Monday, the 1^st XI followed it up with another excellent win against a strong Welbeck Colliery side to make it three wins on the bounce in the Nottinghamshire Premier League. Winning is a habit, so they say.

We now have a fantastic opportunity this weekend to build up that momentum by winning again on Saturday at Ratcliffe-on-Trent. Then on Sunday we face West Indian Cavalliers for a place in the group final of the ECB National Club Championship. It would be great to see as many people down as possible at Newdigate Street on Sunday to cheer us on in what will no doubt be a tough match.

It was also very pleasing to see the England cricket team win the first Test Match against New Zealand at Lords on Monday. The team, and captain have taken a lot of stick recently, much of it slightly harsh in my opinion, so it was great to see them come out and play such excellent cricket in the second innings despite being up against it.

England still have a major problem however, with their choice of spin bowling. Moeen Ali is clearly a good all round cricketer. He can bat in the top or middle order as required, and within the current structure of this England team, is capable of holding an end up with his bowling. If however, England are going to be capable of winning Test Series regularly abroad, in particular in the sub continent, they must look away from Ali.

Moeen Ali can hold up an end but will he win tours away from home?

When I watched him bowl last summer at Trent Bridge, I was struck by how little he offered variation in flight and pace, such an important facet of any spin bowlers armoury. For all the variations Shane Warne had in terms of delivery, many of his wickets were down to deceiving players in the air, something Ali does not do often enough. In fact, I actually think that Joe Root has more potential as an international spinner than Ali as he has a better variation in flight and pace and can actually turn the ball more. If you invested more time into developing Root’s bowling, it could then allow you to bring in a young spinner in place of Ali who has more of what it takes. It was great to see England give young Mark Wood a chance this week, and no doubt people will be pleased with what they saw. 

Simon Kerrigan was given just one Test in the heat of an Ashes series.

Yet how many times have they given an opportunity for a young slow bowler to establish themselves? The last player they gave a chance to was Simon Kerrigan who struggled with nerves. But, the lad continues to do well in county cricket, this week spinning them to victory with another young finger spinner Arron Lilley, and maybe it is time for them to give one of these boys a chance. People often say, that there are no spinners in county cricket, and they are definitely correct in that there is a limited pool. However, until English cricket starts to take the role of spinners seriously, and works with counties to ensure that they get the right pitches and thus opportunities to bowl, we will always be left with ‘a batsman who bowls a bit’ and our chances of success limited in wider formats rather than just Test Matches in English conditions.

Bouncing back

Last weekend proved to be a very successful one for us at Kimberley. After a frustrating start, things started to click for both the 1^st XI and the 2^nd XI which resulted in two excellent wins. I was given the chance to have a good run out in the 2^nd XI this week, where I got the rare opportunity to open the batting, something I really enjoyed. Although, by Sunday I was regretting it as I was struggling to get up the stairs!

The first team game was dominated by a superb innings from Dominic Brown. Dom is a young man who works extremely hard on his game, and I was delighted to hear that he has scored his maiden 1^st XI century. Any hundred is special, but the context of this one in chasing down a big score of 270, after the results we have had in the first couple of games, makes it all the more impressive. I know Dominic has high ambitions with his cricket, and every season I have played with him I have seen improvements. This year he looks to be really blossoming, and I am of the opinion he could do something very special.

Dominic couldn’t have reached the target on his own though, and Kimberley were indebted to a superb supporting knock from Tom Rowe. Tom has really started to build up a head of steam, scoring 150 runs in two innings a fortnight ago, and then a good 70 on Saturday. If he can continue in that vein, with the positive way he bats, then our middle order starts to look very strong.

This coming weekend we face two league matches. Firstly, Attenborough away followed by Welbeck at home. Both will provide different challenges but they will be stern tests, and it is important we now build on the good batting display from Saturday.

Our success this season will be dependent on how well our young side are able to cope with pressurised situations. Performing well when your backs are up against the wall, and having the determination to turn around situations is a vital component for any successful side. Saturday was hopefully a big step in proving that we have the quality, but perhaps more importantly the shrewdness not to panic when things are not going for you. Here’s to another successful weekend. C’mon Kimberley! 

Can you smell it?

Can you smell it? If you just open your window a little bit you might catch the distinctive smell of freshly cut grass mixed with over cooked sausages on the neighbours BBQ. That’s right the summer is finally here! Well OK then, maybe not wall to wall sunshine, but it looks as though we are finally going to get some weather that is set fair for a period of time, which means for me, the cricket season starts in earnest.

The early weeks of a cricket season are always a funny time of year. It can often be tricky to build up any momentum as the training schedule and early fixtures are interrupted by inclement conditions. Down at Kimberley Institute, the winter has seen us continue the process of building a side which we hope can start to challenge for honours over the coming seasons. We are fully aware that the method we are using may take us time to fulfil the potential we think we have. However, this must not be an excuse for the fact that we have not yet in the league managed to put together an all round performance. Anyone who knows Nottinghamshire cricket, will know that the Premier League is an unforgiving place when you make too many errors. So we will continue to work hard to get the detail right. It is this approach of focusing on getting the smaller details right which should help us put together some stronger performances over the coming weeks.

In the week after a historic and unexpected election result, you would expect the headlines to be full of news of David Cameron fine tuning his new cabinet, which includes our local MP Anna Soubry who I would like to congratulate on her new role, especially as she is a keen supporter of our local Kimberley sports clubs.

Yet there is an enigmatic maverick who has been stealing the headlines once again (and I am not talking about Boris Johnson). Kevin Pietersen has once again split English cricket down the middle. Even within our changing room this week I have seen keen supporters of ‘KP’ arguing passionately with those who were happy to see the back of him. He is very much a marmite character.

However, this is all a real distraction from the serious business of how best to organise the governance of the national cricket team. The problem over the last two years, and especially since the Ashes whitewash, has been who is accountable for the performance of the England set-up. In my opinion, the new role of Andrew Strauss must be all empowering. It should be he who chooses the coach, the captain and the squad for each match. From here, he can select a squad for each match which gives the coach and captain the flexibility to use whichever blend they want. It is a naive view that players do not need technical coaching at international level (a criticism levelled at Peter Moores). They still need the environment from which to practise, develop and improve. However, they do need to be able to hone their skills in different environments, and I would like to see more of our top players encouraged where possible to play in tournaments such as the IPL and the Big Bash. There are some really talented players in the English game, but it is only when this happens that it will be possible to really start to change the brand and style of cricket that England play, something people have been asking for now for a while.